Which teams have the best schedule for the week ahead.

There are no guarantees in fantasy hockey, but a pair of tried and true strategies will always pay off in the long haul:

• Bet on the best combination of talent and opportunity to achieve the desired level of production you are looking for from your roster. Talent means nothing without opportunity, and vice-versa.
• Focus on the process by which you make roster decisions, as opposed to the results they yield. Long-term success is not attainable without the knowledge of why you were successful in the short term.

With that in mind, let's take a look ahead at some teams and players to target or avoid in the coming week or so:

Love 'Em (These squads are the best bet to produce for fantasy owners)

St. Louis – The Blues feature a number of two-way forwards blessed with versatility and all-around skills. While St. Louis hasn't played up to preseason expectations, there is good reason to expect this team's output will take a turn for the better sooner rather than later. Alexander Steen is capable of more than he's shown thus far, though there is little doubt he'll ever top last year's career-best 62-point campaign, which was buoyed by a shooting percentage of 15.6% (almost six points higher than his career mark). With four games between Oct. 31 and Nov. 7, feel free to lean on a guy like Steen, especially while Blues forwards T.J. Oshie and David Backes are out with concussions. Patrick Berglund and Jori Lehtera are also sneaky-good plays while Oshie and Backes are sidelined.

Buffalo – Just kidding… Well, not really. Nothing that has happened on the ice suggests the Sabres should be considered to be anything other than "the team most likely to land all-world prospects Connor McDavid or Jake Eichel with one of the first two picks in the 2015 NHL Draft." That being said, Buffalo does play five games (and four at home) between Oct. 31 and Nov. 8. Tyler Ennis and Matt Moulson aren't bad options, thanks to the amount of power play time they receive (provided the Sabres ever score on the power play).

Leave 'Em (These squads will leave fantasy owners sorely disappointed for the immediate future)

San Jose – This is not an indictment of the Sharks or the long-term fantasy outlook for their players. Simply stated, the squad doesn't play very many games over the course of the next several days. Owners may have to make some tough calls regarding fantasy-relevant San Jose star players such as Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, etc. There just won't be a ton of opportunity for them to produce in the coming week or so. Keep that in mind when making lineup decisions, especially in shallow formats (10-team leagues or 12-team) leagues. There may be bench options  

Tampa Bay – Again, this comes down to schedule concerns.Other teams simply offer a greater opportunity to provide more offensive production in the coming days. The Lightning host the Washington Capitals on Nov. 1, then they don't play again until Nov. 6. Steven Stamkos is the only member of the team who should be in fantasy lineups during the first week of the month.

Bet On 'Em (These players are owned in 25 percent of Yahoo leagues or less and may be worth a look)

Radko Gudas, D, Tampa Bay (Available in 78% of Yahoo leagues) – Gudas is not someone capable of providing a significant amount of goals, assists or points on the power play. He lacks the requisite puck skills and skating ability to ever be an offensive force in the NHL, but that doesn't stop the young Lightning defenseman from providing fantasy value. No defenseman totaled more penalty minutes than Gudas did a year ago, and he still managed to score 22 points in his age-23 season.He's also extremely valuable in leagues that count hits and blocks. Gudas is a must-add in those formats and someone to consider in deeper points leagues.